1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an improvement in an electrical connector having a plurality of conductive contacts which are connected with a main circuit board, such as a solid printed circuit board, and provided for coming into press-contact with connecting terminals provided on a flat circuit device, such as a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) or a flat flexible cables (FFC), so as to put the connecting terminals provided on the flat circuit device in electrical connection with the main circuit board.
2. Description of the Prior Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
A flat circuit device, such as a relatively small-sized flexible printed circuit board or the like, used in electronic apparatus of various kinds is often mounted on a main circuit board, such as a solid printed circuit board, on which various electrical parts are directly mounted, by means of an electrical connector which is fixed to and connected electrically with the main circuit board. The electrical connector has a plurality of conductive contacts for coming into contact with connecting terminals provided on the flat circuit device and is operative to connect electrically, through the conductive contacts, the connecting terminals provided on the flat circuit device with conductive circuit pattern portions formed on the main circuit board.
For example, a previously proposed electrical connector, which is used for mounting a flexible printed circuit board as the flat circuit device on a main circuit board, is provided with a housing made of insulator to be mounted on the main circuit board. The housing has an opening through which at least a part of the flexible printed circuit board is inserted into the housing. In the housing, a plurality of conductive contacts are provided to be arranged along the opening. These conductive contacts are operative to come into contact respectively with a plurality of connecting terminals provided on the flexible printed circuit board when the flexible printed circuit board is inserted into the housing through the opening. The electrical connector is further provided with an actuator which is provided to be rotatable to the housing so as to engage with each of the conductive contacts arranged in the housing. When the actuator is rotated in regard to the housing, each of the conductive contacts is caused by the actuator to maintain press-contact with a corresponding one of the connecting terminals provided on the flexible printed circuit board.
For example, the actuator is formed in a slender shape elongating in a direction along which the conductive contacts are arranged and provided thereon with a manipulatable portion. Then, the actuator is rotated in regard to the housing when the manipulatable portion of the actuator is manipulated.
Each of the conductive contacts arranged in the housing is made of conductive resilient material to have a fixed portion fixed to the housing to be electrically connected with a conductive circuit pattern portion formed on the main circuit board on which the housing is mounted and a contacting portion for coming into press-contact with the connecting terminal provided on the flexible printed circuit board inserted in the housing through the opening provided thereon. The connecting portion of each of the conductive contacts postures selectively to come into press-contact with the connecting terminal provided on the flexible printed circuit board and to be released from the press-contact with the connecting terminal provided on the flexible printed circuit board in response to a situation of the flexible printed circuit board to be inserted in the housing and a situation of the actuator to be rotated in regard to the housing.
In the previously proposed electrical connector as mentioned above, under a condition wherein the flexible printed circuit board is inserted into the housing mounted on the main circuit board through the opening provided on the housing, the manipulatable portion of the actuator is manipulated to rotate the actuator in its entirety in regard to the housing for causing the connecting portion of each of the conductive contacts to maintain press-contact with a corresponding one of the connecting terminals provided on the flexible printed circuit board so that the connecting terminals provided on the flexible printed circuit board are surely connected electrically with the conductive circuit pattern portion formed on the main circuit board. On that occasion, the electrical connector is required to indicate clearly a condition wherein the actuator is operating to cause the connecting portion of each of the conductive contacts to maintain press-contact with the connecting terminal provided on the flexible printed circuit board to be distinguishable from a condition wherein the actuator is operating to release the connecting portion of each of the conductive contacts from the press-contact with the connecting terminal provided on the flexible printed circuit board, by means of observation from the outside of the housing.
Therefore, there has been also proposed an electrical connector comprising a housing made of insulator, a plurality of conductive contacts and an actuator rotatable in regard to the housing provided in such a manner as described above, in which a part of the housing or a part of the actuator varies in its color between a condition wherein the actuator is operating to cause each of the conductive contacts to maintain press-contact with a connecting terminal provided on a flexible printed circuit board inserted in the housing and a condition wherein the actuator is operating to release each of the conductive contacts from the press-contact with the connecting terminal provided on the flexible printed circuit board, so that the condition wherein the actuator is operating to cause each of the conductive contacts to maintain the press-contact with the connecting terminal provided on the flexible printed circuit board inserted in the housing, can be recognized by means of observation from the outside of the housing, as shown in, for example, the Japanese patent application published before examination under publication number 2004-355868 (Published patent document 1).
An electrical connector (a connector 30; 50) shown in the published patent document 1 comprises a housing made of insulator (connector body 32: 52) and provided thereon with an opening (38), a plurality of contacts (connector's connecting terminal 36) and an actuator (rocking member 34; 54). Under a condition wherein the actuator (34; 54) takes a first station to keep rising from the housing (32; 52) as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, a flexible printed circuit board (a flexible board 12) is inserted in the housing (32; 52) through the opening (38) provided thereon. Then, when the actuator (34; 54) is manipulated to be rotated from the first station to a second station to keep lying down on the housing (32; 52) as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the flexible printed circuit board (12) inserted in the housing (32; 52) through the opening (38) is put between a contacting portion (a first contacting portion 36A) of each of the conductive contacts (36) and the actuator (34; 54). Thereby, the contacting portion (36A) of each of the conductive contacts (36) is caused to keep press-contacting with a connecting terminals (flexible board terminal 18A) provided on the flexible printed circuit board (12).
In the electrical connector (30), a pressing portion (34B) provided on the actuator (34) is put in engagement with a depression (32A) provided on the housing (32; 52). Further, in the electrical connector (50), an electronic paper (56) stuck on the actuator (54) is moved to approach a magnetic member (a first magnetic member 20) provided on the flexible printed circuit board (12).
A press-discoloring member (44) is positioned in the depression (32A) provided on the housing (32) of the electrical connector (30). When the pressing portion (34B) provided on the actuator (34) engages with the depression (32A), the pressing portion (34B) is operative to press the press-discoloring member (44) so that the press-discoloring member (44) becomes discolored. A part of the housing (32) at which the press-discoloring member (44) is formed is made of transparent material and therefore the discoloration of the press-discoloring member (44) in the depression (32A) can be observed from the outside of the housing (32) of the electrical connector (30) as a change of color of the part of the housing (32).
The electronic paper (56) stuck on the actuator (54) of the electronic connector (50) is operative to discolor with magnetic attraction from the magnetic member (20) provided on the flexible printed circuit board (12) when electronic paper (56) is moved to approach the magnetic member (20). The electronic paper (56) is stuck on an outer surface of the actuator (54) and therefore the discoloration of the electronic paper (56) can be observed from the outside of the housing (52) of the electrical connector (50) as a change of color of the part of the actuator (54).
As described above, in the electrical connector (30) shown in the published patent document 1, the press-discoloring member (44) positioned in the depression (32A) provided on the housing (32) is pressed by the pressing portion (34B) provided on the actuator (34) to become discolored, so that the part of the housing (32) varies in its color between a condition wherein the actuator (34) is operating to cause each of the conductive contacts (36) to maintain press-contact with the connecting terminal (18A) provided on the flexible printed circuit board (12) inserted in the housing (32) and a condition wherein the actuator (34) is operating to release each of the conductive contacts (36) from the press-contact with the connecting terminal (18A) provided on the flexible printed circuit board (12), and in the electrical connector (50) also shown in the published patent document 1, the electronic paper (56) stuck on the actuator (54) is operative to discolor with the magnetic attraction from the magnetic member (20) provided on the flexible printed circuit board (12), so that the part of the actuator (54) varies in its color between a condition wherein the actuator (54) is operating to cause each of the conductive contacts (36) to maintain the press-contact with the connecting terminal (18A) provided on the flexible printed circuit board (12) inserted in the housing (52) and a condition wherein the actuator (54) is operating to release each of the conductive contacts (36) from the press-contact with the connecting terminal (18A) provided on the flexible printed circuit board (12).
As a result, in the electrical connector (30; 50) shown in the published patent document 1, the condition wherein the actuator (34; 54) is operating to cause each of the conductive contacts (36) to maintain the press-contact with the connecting terminal (18A) provided on the flexible printed circuit board (12) inserted in the housing (32; 52), can be recognized by means of observation from the outside of the housing (32; 52).
In each of the electrical connectors thus proposed previously to be used for mounting the flexible printed circuit board on the main circuit board, with which the condition wherein the actuator provided to be rotatable in regard to the housing is operating to cause each of the conductive contacts arranged in the housing to maintain press-contact with the connecting terminal provided on the flexible printed circuit board inserted in the housing, can be recognized by means of observation from the outside of the housing, it is required to provide on the housing with the depression in which the press-discoloring member is put and in addition to provide on the actuator with the pressing portion for engaging with the depression formed on the housing, or to provide with the magnetic member on the flexible printed circuit board to be inserted in the housing through the opening provided thereon and in addition to provide on the actuator with the electronic paper for moving to approach the magnetic member on the flexible printed circuit board inserted in the housing dependently upon the station of the actuator.
This means that the electrical connector is required to have a specific member such as a press-discoloring member operative to be caused by a pressure exerted thereon to discolor or an electrical paper operative to be caused by a magnetic member to discolor and each of the housing and the actuator of the electrical connector is unwillingly complicated in its configuration. As a result, a rise in production cost of the electrical connector is undesirably brought about.